''Swan Song'' is a 2023 Canadian documentary film, directed by

Chelsea McMullan Chelsea McMullan is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, best known for their 2013 film '' My Prairie Home'', a film about transgender musician Rae Spoon.National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

artistic director and former dancer

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer and was the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 to 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet trainin ...

as she directs a production of ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' for the company as her final project before retiring.Pat Mullen
"Neve Campbell Boards TIFF-Bound Doc Swan Song as Executive Producer"
''

Point of View Point of View or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...

'', July 25, 2023.

Cast

Jurgita Dronina Jurgita Dronina (born 27 March 1986) is a Lithuanian ballet dancer. Until 2024, she was a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, having previously danced with Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and English National Ballet. ...

* Shaelynn Estrada *

Production

Actress

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (; born October 3, 1973) is a Canadian actress. After working in Canadian and American television, Campbell emerged as a scream queen for her starring roles in horror and thriller films. She has also appeared in blockbu ...

is an executive producer.

Release

The film premiered at the

2023 Toronto International Film Festival The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023.Victoria Ahearn"TIFF reveals new programmers and other 2023 festival details" '' Playback'', April 20, 2023. The most noted change from past years was tha ...

, and screened at the 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival,Aryn Toombs
"Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled"
''LiveWire Calgary'', September 25, 2023. the 2023 BFI London Film Festival and the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival. An expanded four-part television version aired in November 2023 on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

and

CBC Gem CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

.Greg David
"CBC sets fall 2023 streaming and broadcast premiere dates for new and returning original series on CBC Gem and CBC Television"
''TV, eh?'', August 24, 2023.

Reception

Lisa Kennedy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "Director Chelsea McMullan, along with co-writer and producer Sean O'Neill, have crafted a work that echoes the artform's grace and rigor, physical demands and details. As one of the film's achingly sympathetic subjects Shaelynn Estrada confesses, it also explores the deep love and sometimes equally deep antipathy dancers can have for their chosen profession." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s Leslie Felperin awarded the "nuanced" film three stars out of five, describing it as "an interesting snapshot of an art form struggling, like so many others, with changing expectations about representation."

Awards

At Cinéfest, the film was runner-up for the Audience Choice award for Best Documentary Film. At Calgary, the film won the award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary. The film was the winner of the Rogers Best Canadian Documentary Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2023. The film was the winner of the 2024

Canadian Screen Award for Best Sound Design in a Documentary The Canadian Screen Award for Best Sound Design in a Documentary is an annual award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. It is presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards program, to honour the best sound in a feature doc ...

, and the 2024

DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film The DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film is an annual Canadian award, presented by the Directors Guild of Canada to honour the year's best direction in documentary films in Canada. The award was renamed in 2010 to honour influential Canadi ...

.Alex Nino Gheciu
"‘Queen of My Dreams,’ ‘We Forgot to Break Up’ tie for top Directors Guild award"
''

Brandon Sun ''The Brandon Sun'' is a Monday through Saturday newspaper printed in Brandon, Manitoba. It is the primary newspaper of record for western Manitoba and includes substantial political, crime, business and sports news. ''The Brandon Sun'' also pub ...

'', October 28, 2024.

References

External links

* {{TFCA Award for Best Canadian Film 2023 documentary films 2023 films Canadian documentary films Canadian dance films 2020s Canadian films Films directed by Chelsea McMullan 2020s Canadian documentary television series 2023 Canadian television series debuts 2023 Canadian television series endings CBC Television original programming Documentary films about ballet